It is important that criminal law is considered from all angles for a comprehensive approach. Criminal law principles are crucial as they are the fundamentals of criminal law practice. Principles are learned in a university style setting and they are integral for the eventual practice of law.
Commonwealth Criminal Code
The commonwealth criminal code is the fundamental legislation which relates to criminal law. It encompasses the criminal law perspectives, principles and practice of criminal law. Complex concepts are explained and they influence the practical applications of principles in practice.
There is a criminal code pursuant to each separate state whether that be New South Wales Victoria Australian Capital Territory, etc.
How Do You Keep Students Engaged?
Principles to practice is one of the best ways to keep students engaged in the Criminal law process. Mixing the theoretical with the practical is a good way to create a more interesting, less dry learning experience and promote student engagement. Learning criminal law perspectives from principles is a key component of the study of criminal law.
John Anderson for example combined evidentiary principles with integrated discussion to promote a comprehensive analysis of the law, specifically, criminal law perspectives. This may more commonly be known as the theoretical application of criminal procedure.
What is Criminal Procedure?
Criminal procedure is the process by which criminal matters must be dealt with. This may be from an evidentiary perspective or it may be from a court procedure perspective. Evidence needs to be gathered, analysed and presented in a particular manner and this is the same for the presentation of your case before the court.
When evidence is presented to the court the most important aspect is summarising and extracting key facts to build your case. The focus is on presenting an engaging introduction which will delve into a comprehensive and accessible overview of the law you wish to apply. Providing hard copy notes, copies of legislation or key evidentiary documents to help support your points will assist the Judge or Magistrate with making the decision.
Why is it Important to Consider Historical Principles?
Historical principles are the foundation for many of our current day law principles. It is important to have a level of understanding of where the principles stem from before attempting to apply them to practice.
It is important to develop case boxes summarising the historical application and the present day application as tools for self assessment of your understanding.
